Greet guests with a bright arrangement of seasonal paper whites, heather, juniper, and moss in a planter that hangs directly on your front door.
Southern Living
Test your teenager and her friend's knowledge of popular music by playing a game called name that famous song. With your teenager's help, write down a list of the most popular songs from the past year. Write down each of these songs on separate slips of paper. During the party, gather all the teenagers in a quiet room and instruct them to each take a piece of paper from the bucket or bowl. Stand the first teenager in front of the room and set 30 seconds on a timer. It's the first teenager's job to hum the song on his slip. Once a teenager in the room successfully guesses the song, stop the clock and write down the time. This is the first contestant's time. The teenager with the best time is the winner.Every Day Life
These sparkly, celestial decorations are so awesome, you’ll want to leave them up all year. Feel free to cover every non-glittery idea here in glitter and confetti.
In order to add the proper balance of black and white to a Christmas tree, keep in mind that contrast and proximity are key. When placed on a green tree, black ornaments tend to blend in and white ornaments tend to stand out. When hanging the ornaments, try clustering them close to one another ensuring roughly two black ornaments for every white ornament. This mix will help keep the proper contrast consistent so both colors are showcased equally.HGTV
Antique sheet music makes a chic, unconventional base for this white-and-silver place setting. Top the music with a silver charger, an ironstone dinner plate and a silver bread plate. Then, roll up a monogrammed linen napkin in a simple silver ring.HGTV
"Do always include the single friend or extra surprise guest, even if it's 13 at your table. You can always make room, slice the roast a little thinner."
Old T-shirts and rags find new life in this simple wreath. We cut fabric into 4-inch squares and nailed them through the center of the square to the wreath form, bunching up the fabric. We love how the wreath resembles a fluffy cloud and is the perfect complement to a bold-colored door.
This project emphasizes snowballs' super-cute side — and not the feeling of slush sliding down your neck when your kid pelts you with an icy handful.
This adorable and modern setting is brought to life with "floating" glass and Styrofoam bubbles, tabletop "bubble bath" centerpieces, fluffy towels, pint-size terry-cloth robes, bright splashes of aqua and sunny yellow, and of course lots of our little rubber ducky friends.
Greet guests with a bright arrangement of seasonal paper whites, heather, juniper, and moss in a planter that hangs directly on your front door.
Delicate paper flowers star in Valerie's (homemademodern.blogspot.com) mantel. She cut petals from brown paper bags and arranged them in flower shapes. Creasing the petals is crucial, she says. "It gives the flowers dimension." Salvaged and backyard items make up the rest of Valerie's mantel. Using the natural elements available during fall is an easy way to celebrate the season.BHG.com
"If you go into a house and there's tension in the air, you can practically taste it. Don't get edgy with family members if the food, table, or flowers aren't perfect.
When it comes to Christmas, the only thing almost as predictable as Santa’s ample waistline is the color scheme. But guess what? “Nobody said you have to stick with red and green,” points out Kimberly Kennedy, lifestyle expert and author of The Art and Craft of Entertaining. “There’s no reason why there should be any rules during the holiday.”iVillage
To complement this table's muted color palette, fill the area around the centerpiece with pale gourds and squash. Incorporate beeswax taper candles and flickering gold votives to warm the mood.
We love a surprising table that manages to incorporate both the glamorous touches that we might find in a high-end hotel ballroom, as well as the more rustic, down-home vibe that feels so cozy this time of year. Blogger Sophia’s Decor achieves the perfect combination, using details like cotton, acorns, feathers and more.
In his Connecticut home, designer Eddie Ross started with the accessories that always sit on this ledge: the 1940s clock in the center and the matched pair of hurricanes at either end.
Craft your own napkin holders with burlap and a chevron pattern for an easy, reusable table decoration.
Align several of these handmade votives—tied with berries and twine—in the center of your dining table to create an elegant centerpiece.
Help guests keep up with their drinks by wrapping each glass stem in a different color of embroidery floss. (Another idea: Use the thread to dress up serving utensil handles.)
This is the two-fold blessing of hosting a party: (1) You can get nice dishes and silverware that you can use everyday or just for special occasions; (2) it forces you out of your bachelor mentality of dining with plastic forks and knives. Plus, you can always borrow special dishes like ladles and punch bowls from friends.
Unleash your Halloween guests' hidden wild side with this potent potable. Made with vodka, aromatic herbs and blackberry liqueur, it's frightfully refreshing.
Once you've built up a larger collection of paint chips, transform them into a wreath full of brilliant blooms. To create the flowers: Cut the end of the chip at a 45-degree angle with scissors, then twist around until a conical form takes shape. To keep it from unraveling, add a generous bead of hot glue to the back where the two edges of the paint chip meet.See More At HGTV
If you managed to go this long in life without acquiring some horrific Christmas sweater — you know, the ones with the puff paint snowmen and the mistletoe-patterned mock turtlenecks — from your great aunt Mildred, then you may have to run to the nearest K-Mart to purchase one for this party of holiday fashion faux pas. We promise they don't cost more than $15, and the photos will most definitely be priceless.
Create your own Halloween-themed fill-in-the-blanks story (Mad Lib-style) and print out copies for each party-goer to fill in (or use our version here). Everyone can read his or her own completed story to the group, or they can trade and read a different child’s. Have a shy bunch? A parent can read all of them aloud.
The invites are always a special touch for me -- I usually find an example I like and customize the invite to suit. Sometimes, there is a template included in a themed printable pack -- copy and paste, insert text, add a cute photo of your little one and voila! You have unique and memorable invitations to send with your child to school. I have also learned from experience that it often pays to invite the whole class. If you are having a party, I say do it! The marginal cost of a few more kids is not significant, and you will help your child learn to build and grow their relationships by including all their friends and getting to know the parents.
- Can immediate family members host a baby shower?
Traditionally, a family member should not host a shower for a daughter, sister or other close relative. However, when good friends don't offer to step in, an immediate member of the family can get by with hosting a small (or large) gathering, in honor of the mother, and to celebrate the upcoming birth.
Certain patterns go hand-in-hand with the season. Gingham is to summer as plaid is to winter. Keep your reception tables simple and add texture with your napkin treatment. The gingerbread snowflake cookie is a charming touch.
There are a multitude of DIY Halloween costumes out there, but here are the ones that require a little extra detail for a stunning result. You know that famous Scarlet O’Hara dress or Belle gown? Follow the detailed tutorials to learn how to make them.
Buy yourself some fridge space by sending guests home with leftovers that look — yep — good enough to eat. These takeout boxes are sold only in bulk, but trust us: You'll find a million uses for such handy containers. (Boxes, $69.41 for 200;mrtakeoutbags.com; 20 bordered labels, $4.50;papercupdesign.com)Country Living
Fall couples: when it comes to fresh, beautiful flowers for your autumn wedding, you've got the upper hand. Even though many wedding favorites are no longer in season, there are plenty of fall beauties to fill out your wedding bouquet. Dahlias and succulents, both in season, bring warmth to your bouquet, especially when carried in rich, rustic earth tones. When paired with texture pieces like berries and crespedia, and year-round flowers like roses, you can expect lots of personality.
Nautical KnotsRead More At DIY Network
Print table number cards and place in an exquisite rope knot for a beach or nautical-themed wedding. Design by Richelle Siatta of Pretty Chic SF.
Last year, we rounded up a list of clever, attractive Halloween costumes that didn't require fishnets or stilettos. Though if you want to rock either, get down with your bad self. This year, we've compiled some more costume ideas that are easy to make, inexpensive and way better than the "Sexy Pixie Lust Fairy," "Hospital Honey" or "Naughty Western Sheriff" get-ups that you'll find in your local Halloween store:Huffington Post
Add fun Halloween flair to your kitchen with our easy skeleton magnet. To make, simply download our free skeleton pattern onto white paper; cut out. Glue the bones onto black cardstock and trim as shown. Self-adhesive magnet strips finish the Halloween craft.
Fall-themed party candles: Use mini-pumpkins or small gourds as candleholders by snapping off the stem and gluing a candle (or melting the bottom of the candle so it sticks) onto the top of the pumpkin. Place hurricane glasses around the candle and place floral pins around the glass to help it stay put.
With dueling pianos as a wedding entertainment rather than just a wedding band, you get a larger variety of music, plus all the interactivity you want. Guests are able to make requests, play games, plus roasts and toasts if desired. The typical wedding band will know hundreds of songs. A great dueling pianos show will know THOUSANDS.
2. Play Touch Football. Or soccer, tag, hide-n-seek, etc. Just get outside with the gang and do something that involves running around and taking in some nice fresh air.
Give guests a place to mingle between dance breaks by creating a lounge area at your reception. Fill the space with couches or chairs and plenty of pillows to sink into. It's the perfect way to keep everyone in on the party even when they're resting. Really want to wow 'em? Close off the area with curtains to create a VIP vibe.See More At The Knot
Let’s be honest: most families aren’t the Cleavers. There’s usually some combination of family members that ends up being toxic. You know who they are and which touchy subjects should be avoided. Family strife and tension makes Thanksgiving miserable for everyone, so mitigate it in advance.
You don't need an intricate pattern or advanced pumpkin-carving skills to turn a fresh pumpkin and white gourds into this adorable decoration. Learn how to make your own.
Read More At Punchbowl
- Crafts: Plan a craft activity for the entire family during Thanksgiving. Provide supplies such as leaves, acorns, pine needles, and festive stickers to make a Thanksgiving collage . Have guests use a glue gun or other non-toxic glue options to stick the items to card stock. For another idea, have each guest create a patch for a quilt. Put the quilt together at a later date and send pictures to the Thanksgiving guests.
Fall weather can be unpredictable, depending on where you live, but Tara Wilson said hosting an outdoor party in fall is unexpected—and your last chance before the chilly winter months. However, always have an indoor back-up plan in case of sudden bad weather.
Looking to kick off Halloween with a bang, not a boo? This version of a classic carnival game also makes a festive wall decoration, and bursting the confetti-and-candy-filled balloons in this Halloween party game will make everyone explode with laughter.